Process of manufacturing articles from pulp.



w. H. DRAKE. v PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING ARTICLES FROM PULP.

RENEWED JAN. is, 1918.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1917.

Patented Ma INVENTOR ATTC DRN E! W.H.Drake EE l WiTNES SES WALTER H. DRAKE, or sen rnancrsoo, 'oenrroiuvre.

rnocnss or MAnUFAo'rURI ve ARTICLES, 3015 PULP Specificati'on of Letters Patent. 7 Patented Maly 2'3, 143 19.

Application filed June 28, 1917; Serial lilo. 177,580. Renewed January 25, 1918. Serial No..213,820.

To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Manufacturing Articles from Pulp, of which the following-is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of forming articles from pulp and the object is to provide an improved process which,

may be employed in connection with wood pulp, paper-pulp, or any similar material, and which shall include the agitation ofthe material within the mold and the deposit thereof in a uniform manner over the entire surface of the mold sections.

A further object is to provide for varying the thickness of the side and bottom wallsof the article by varying the point at which the air is introduced near the bottom of the mold.

That the apparatus claims presented in this application have been divided out and form the subject matter of divisional application, Serial Number 262574, filed November '14, 1918.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel steps of the process hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings is shown conventionally one form of apparatus which'may be employed in carrying out the process.

Figure 1 shows a mold in vertical section,

the members of the mold beingin closed position, and Fig. 2 is a further view in vertical section with the members of the mold in open position- The receptacle containing the designated 10 and'from this receptacle a duct 12 passes downwardly to the mold proper. This. duct is closed by means of a cutoff device 14, and the duct is provided also with a connection 15 for introducing air under pressure. The mold comprises a plu-' rality of sections 16 and 17 adapted to swing outwardly, these sections being formed of wire mesh or other foraminous material for the purpose of permitting the water to be forced out of the pulp under air pressure.

A duct 18 extends downwardly through the central portion of the mold terminating at a suitable distance from the bottom of the latter, so that air introduced under pressure will force the pulp upwardly, through the space provided by the annular-chamber 20 between the side walls of the mold and the duct, and will deposit this pulp evenly throughout the entiresurface of the mold.

sections, forcing the water out through the mold walls. The relative-thickness of the side and bottom" walls of the article'being formed is varied by varying the distance between the lower end ofthe duct 18 and the bottom of the mold. The lower section 18' of the tube 18isadjustably connected with the tube proper, for the purpose indicated.

The pulp is admitted by operating cutofi 14, and the mold filled with the material, after WhlCll the member .14 is againoperated for the purpose of discontinuing the flow.

The material is deposited by gravity within."

the mold the article will be discharged by;

gravity.

Among the many advantages realized. in

employing the process is that an elaborate and expensive equipment is done away with, so that any large dairy or other concern may have its own plant for manufacturing containers or other articles and may use any number of molds according to the out put required.

One 'of the difliculties heretofore experi-. enced in the production of hollow articles from pulp has been that the walls are not smooth and uniform and must be subsequently treated in order to make them so. I avoid this objection by introducing the air in the manner specified, producingan even deposit of the material.

It is apparent that containers of all types and sizes may be made for use inputting 'up food of various kinds, tobacco, and other products as well as articles other than containers. 1

No vacuum chamber is employed as in the I case of certain other processes for the manunot otherwise be employed. The pulp is introduced under the action of gravity and is distributed by air under pressure.

It is obvious that steam may be employed instead of air under pressure if desired.

The mold may be inclosed by any suitable casing or the like.

What is claimed is: 1. The process herein described which consists in filling a mold'formed of foraminous material with pulp, introducing fluid under pressure at a point near the bottom of the mold and forcing the pulp upwardly along the sides of the mold in a direction opposite to that'in which the fluid is introduced, and simultaneously freeing the pulp from the water contained therein. 2. In the process of forming articles from pulp in a mold having foraminous walls, the

step of introducing fluid under pressure into tive thickness of the side. and bottom walls of the article.

3. The process of forming articles consisting in employing a foraminous mold introducing a pulp-carrying fluid into the mold employing means to overcome the tendency of the pulp to be deposited by gravity and employing means to force the fluid carriage through the walls of the foraminous mold.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WALTER H. DRAKE.

l the walls of the mold, for Varying the rela- 

